A Servant's Story
by Hidden Behind the Name
Summary: Belle was not the kind of woman who was used to living in the lap of luxury. Her marriage to the Beast, while wonderful, leads her to wonder how the staff of the castle have managed to stay within its walls for so long. The answers she receives are not ones that she expected.
1. Curiosity

_Fear was beginning to grip his heart, making it beat faster. He watched from his mother's side as his elder brother was questioned by a strange man who had shown up at the master's house suddenly the previous day. The man had spoken with the master in hushed tones which frightened him, especially when he and his brother were summoned to be introduced to the unknown man. They were examined carefully by both men before being dismissed so their elders could talk cheerfully about business._

_That night, he was pulled aside by his brother as they readied themselves for bed, loose gowns set on the bed to be worn once they scrubbed themselves clean. _

_"Frère." He looked up at his older brother with questioning eyes. "I think that man wants me for work. That means I won't be here anymore to take care of you and teach you."_

_"He won't take you," he chirped innocently, not seeing the sadness settle on the other boy's face as he turned away to tug on his nightclothes. All he could do was smile, assuming all had been fixed with his simple statement. _

_Clearly, as the men spoke the following morning, the issue was not so easily remedied. He felt the prickles of unease settling over him and his mother as his brother nodded and promised to be ready in an hour's time at most. He startled a little as his name was called and he shuffled forward. He stopped before the master, lifting his chin to look up at the gentleman. His brother looked on, pity filling his gaze. _

_"Say goodbye to your brother," the master said coolly. "You will help him pack. He is to become a part of Monsieur Chaput's staff."_

"Lumière!" Cogsworth shouted having had enough of his maître d' lounging about like the day would suddenly wait for him to finish his little breaks. Dinner preparations couldn't wait, not with important guests on their way; guests who would most likely be eager to eat after the long trip from their lavish home to the castle. He continued to angrily call for the source of his numerous headaches only to abruptly halt when Belle exited the library, Lumière at her heels with his arms filled with books. Cogsworth hastily bowed to acknowledge the princess' rank. "Your majesty!"

"Hello, Cogsworth," Belle said. She smiled as the man stood straight once more. "I'm terribly sorry, I heard you calling for him but I had him busy helping me."

"It's not a problem, _Madame, _he just needs to get to work preparing for dinner. After all, you have important guests coming tonight!"

"Oh Cogsworth, you know I'll have everything ready in time. Even if I'm not a timepiece like you. I do a marvelous job taking care of the dining room!" Lumière boasted. He merely grinned when Cogsworth pinned him with a glare.

His words had had the desired effect, earning a giggle from the tired looking woman. He was always one to prefer spending time with the female half of the population, and while it was merely as friends, Belle was no exception. Especially now that she and her husband Prince Adam were expecting their first child. The former candelabra eagerly accepted any opportunity to assist the young woman in her daily tasks, since it allowed him to be helpful and kind to her, as well as a reason to avoid Cogsworth for a while.

"Lumière, you should go, I can carry my books from here, Belle said, holding her hands out. She was surprised when the man turned away from her and suddenly dumped the load into the arms of the unsuspecting Cogsworth. His actions caused the head of the household to yelp.

"Be a gentleman and help the woman with her books, Cogsworth. After all, it would be rude to force an expectant mother to carry such heavy things," Lumière declared. He dipped into a bow to give his respect to Belle before walking off. Cogsworth was left struggling with the heavy burden and tried hard not to let them crash to the ground onto his own feet.

"U-um, my lady? Where do you need these to be taken?"

Belle eased a few out of his hands then led him to the sitting room she found herself using the most. She found that people only used it when they had reason to, such as her prince speaking with a guest or two. The maids visited it on occasion to clean and they would leave her sitting in the corner in her fortress of books if she asked them to.

More often lately, she found herself needing to be alone, something that was hard to actually achieve in the castle, since there were so many people living within it that being alone was a rare treat. Especially since she was pregnant, leading the others to worry about her to the point she sometimes felt like she would go mad or suffocate. But she knew it was their way of showing that they cared and so she couldn't be mad at them for it. It just made her try a little harder to find places to stay where she could read in peace.

She was lightly pulled from her thoughts when Cogsworth placed the books atop one of the numerous piles decorating the area around a worn, comfortable chair. He turned to her with eyes on the floor, as if he were uncomfortable in her presence.

"Madam, I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me. I need to be sure everything is going well in the kitchen. Things will go to pieces if someone isn't there to make sure everything is done right!"

Belle simply smiled. Once he was out of sight, she curled up to immerse herself in a fictional world, content to stay that way for hours.

Alas, she was needed long before she could read away the night. Her husband brought her from the sitting room to the dining room, where she sat through dinner with a wealthy couple she could not for the life of her remember. Perhaps part of the reason she felt absent from the conversation was the fact she found herself more interested in her staff than the rich man and woman seated with her.

Lumière himself stood near the door, assisting with serving them well, staying close to Babette's side as the maid worked to keep their glasses filled. A few other servers loitered nearby, watching the festivities for any sign that something was needed. Belle couldn't help but marvel at how smoothly the staff worked, even when Cogsworth appeared to check on how things were going. It made her wonder; their seamless execution of what was expected betrayed years of practice working with one another at such events.

Curiosity began to eat at her, making her pull Adam aside, after the guests were escorted to their rooms to rest for the night, to question him on it.

"How long has everyone worked here?"

"Most of them were here before I was born. You would have to ask them yourself, Belle," he apologetically replied. He touched her cheek, his hand moving down to her belly after a moment. "You can ask them in the morning."


	2. Questions

_For a year, he waited. He waited between chores for the sound of the bedroom door creaking open to let in his brother who would shrug and say he forgot the cloth for shining the master's shoes. Or that Maman was looking for them. At dinner, he set a place for his brother until his mother, worn out and generally a sad woman who had been through too much, broke down crying. His brother's plate forever remained a decoration in the wooden cupboard instead of gracing the table. He prayed before bed, asking, no, begging, for his brother to be sound asleep in the bed next to him when he woke up like he always had been. As the days passed, the prayers ceased and the waiting lasted fewer and fewer hours. _

_When a year had passed, life had regained its sense of normalcy, as if the hole had simply never existed. On the anniversary of losing their child and sibling, a strange man arrived. This time, the man, though just as different and strange as the previous, did not stir the same feelings of fear and unease within him. Instead, he felt resigned as if he knew what to expect. Before long, he was called to meet_ _him._

_As he stood before his master and the man, who introduced himself as Channing,_ _he knew he was leaving his maman behind, just like his brother had. There was nothing to be done. He could see it in her teary eyes._

_A warm hand suddenly tipped his chin up so Channing could look into his hazel eyes sunken into the smaller skull of a still growing boy. The eyes he saw belonged not to a child but a man; this caused Channing's mouth to pull into a frown at the edges. His chin was released. _

_"Was he lively before, sir?" Channing asked. The man's way of talking was strange, for it didn't sound the same as the people from the village. He frowned, small fingers rubbing away any discomfort that lingered from the man's touch. He watched the master nod thoughtfully. "He needs to get away from here. We have a position available that needs to be filled, and soon. He would do quite nicely."_

_The master turned toward him and seemed surprised when he had an answer ready._

_"I'll will be ready to go in an hour, Monsieur Channing."_

After having breakfast with her husband, Belle attempted to find Cogsworth, intending to find out the answers to the questions which still churned in her mind. The few servants she passed all told her the same thing: Cogsworth was in the kitchen with Mrs. Potts.

Belle knew that technically, as the lady of the house, she was supposed to stay away from the servant's quarters, seeing as that was for the staff and not for the royal couple. She couldn't help the thrill that ran through her at knowing she was doing something she was not supposed to. She smiled and turned the knob, stepping inside the room she had only seen filled with Enchanted Objects working diligently on whatever their task happened to be. She found that she almost missed the magic of it all when Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts looked up from the tea they were having together using an ordinary, plain tea set.

"Your highness!" Cogsworth practically yelped, rushing to his feet. He calmed only slightly when she raised her hands to assure him that all was well. She felt bad for causing the anxiety clearly dancing in his eyes.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but I thought you'd be the best person to ask about the questions I have."

Mrs. Potts stood to clear the dishes away while Cogsworth and the princess spoke.

"You all must have been a here a long time. I've seen how well all of your staff works together. Do you know when they came to the castle?"

"Dear," Mrs. Potts said before the man had a chance to reply. "A job like this one is one you keep. You have enough food, good shelter, and a little money to buy whatever little trinkets you like from the town or what the master isn't willing to give you. It's hard work, but you'd have to be crazy to want to give it up."

"Most of them came years ago, when the staff was smaller. We've all been here for years, madam," Cogsworth answered. "We've had several come and go, yes, but of the main staff, very few are recent additions. I was even born here."

"You were?"

"Yes indeed, your highness. Mrs. Potts was here before I was."

"Mrs. Potts? Do you remember when the other people came here?"

"Oh deary me..." Mrs. Potts dried her hands of the soapy water once she finished with the dishes, turning to face the two patiently waiting for her reply. "Lumière came when you were about fifteen. And his new little wife Babette a few years later. Chef was here before us all! I don't remember when anyone else arrived, I'm afraid."

"That's alright, thank you," Belle said with a smile. "I should get back to Adam, he'll be wondering where I've gone soon."

Both servants nodded and bowed or curtsied when she went to leave. She wandered down the hall, intending to be true to her word and find her husband to share with him what she'd learned. She hadn't gone far before she heard the sounds of a heated argument and chose to investigate.

What she found, didn't surprise her. Two of the maids stood facing each other, eyes gleaming with hatred and mouths twisted to ugly sneers. One maid, a young woman Belle had never known by name, stood with her back against the wall and her arms crossed tightly over his chest in an attempt to seem almost untouched by the anger practically pouring off the other. Her nonchalance only served to escalate the volatile situation.

"I told you to keep your hands off him!" Babette screeched, feather duster pointed so the handle was mere inches from the other woman's face. The nasty smirk that appeared on the other's face gave Belle the impression this fight had been going on for a while.

"Lumière isn't someone you can own," she taunted. "He can't be tamed or tied down. He's too free to be content with only one woman."

Seeing as the topic of their fight was no where in sight and therefore unable to settle the dispute, Belle stepped in.

"_Excusez-moi, s'il vous pla__î__t. _What's going on here?"

"This girl is lusting over my husband!" Babette glared at her fellow maid, looking like an animal fighting back the primal urge to defend what belonged to her. The comment reduced them back to bickering, masking the sounds of approaching sets of footsteps.

"_Mademoiselle et madame_, that's enough," Prince Adam said firmly as he stopped beside Belle. The maids hastily curtsied. Babette looked past the royal couple to where a bemused Lumière stood. Catching her eye, the man stepped around Belle and Adam to wrap an arm around his wife. "What happened?"

"Everything is fine, _maître,_" Babette replied after a moment, resting her hand over Lumière's where it rested lightly on her hip. Her anger was gone and all it had taken was her husband's warm embrace.


	3. Candle

_He was shivering by the time they reached the inn that Channing had decided upon. He slid from the horse's back and looked up at the decrepit building with slight disgust. It looked so fragile that a good enough knock would send the thing crumbling to the ground. When he saw the warm glow of lanterns which creaked as the light breeze caught them, he turned his back on the establishment. He would have lied had anyone asked if and why he was shaking._

_"It's not as bad as it looks," Channing said jovially. The boy gave him a look of mistrust but followed the man in, practically clinging to the auburn coat Channing wore. "Go sit by the fire, boy. Go warm up."_

_He left the man's side with slight hesitation but stayed back from the fireplace. The flowers sitting next to the hearth on a little stool made his throat tighten, for they looked dry and sparks danced at the edge of the fireplace. He pictured a flame jumping to the flowers, making them catch. The patrons would leap to their feet and rush away from the scene while the innkeeper would run to put it out. Being clumsy, he would knock it and the vase would hit the ground so the fire would spread across the floor and engulf them all. The women would scream and sob as the ceiling began to-_

_"What's the matter?" Channing's voice made him jump and scurry back. His escort frowned and knelt to reassure the boy. When he placed his hands on the child's shoulders, the poor thing jumped. "You're as white as a ghost!"_

_"I-I'm sorry," he whimpered, lowering his head in shame. He flinched a little when Channing gently lifted his chin. _

_"You don't have to be scared. Come, we'll go to the room."_

Belle tossed and turned in bed, trying not to wake Adam with her restless shifting. Her ability to sleep had been lacking for the past week or two and staying in bed never seemed to help.

Giving up, she forced herself to leave the warmth of her comfortable bed and light a candle. Briefly, she watched it and felt disappointment hit her when it didn't move. It occurred to her that she shouldn't still be feeling like that almost a year after her friends had become human again. Brushing that aside, she picked up the candle stick and left the room.

Her wandering led her to the kitchen where the faint light spilled out into the dark hall. She stepped inside and found Lumière bent over the table. Her soft footsteps weren't quiet enough to avoid disrupting him. He looked up from what Belle could now see was a letter. He stood.

"_Madame,_ it's late, what are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep. You can continue with what you were doing, I didn't mean to bother you."

"I was finished," he said, carefully putting out his candle and moving it aside. He began gathering up his papers. "Is there anything you need?"

"Someone to talk to?" Belle replied hopefully. She smiled in thanks when Lumière pulled out a chair for her. He moved away to light the stove with the intention of getting something warm for her to drink. He leaned back when the fire was started and double checked the old stove's flimsy door to make sure it wouldn't unlatch.

"Bad dreams, _mon amie_?" He asked casually, returning to the table. He leaned his elbows on the back of a chair and watched the flickering flame of her candle.

"No I just... couldn't seem to fall asleep. It's hard getting used to being bigger than I was before." She smiled and rested a dainty hand on her belly which in turn made Lumière grin.

"Ah, but it will be worth it! Mrs. Potts complained of the same thing when she was having Chip. And look how that turned out!"

He looked up from the candle to wink at her while she laughed. He stepped away to tend to the warming water. She focused on his every movement as he leaned back away from the fire while checking on the water. His shoulders were pulled in and he was almost turned away from the pot. He moved gracefully to the cupboard and searched it. He only returned to the table when the tea was poured and fire was out. He put the steaming cup before her with a smile.

"_Merci!_" she giggled a little. She had always found it so delightfully refreshing when their stiff, formal behaviour was tempered with playfulness. They were her friends as much as they were her staff. She reached across the table and took his hands. They seemed to burn into her frigid fingers. When he didn't pull away, she smiled up at him and spoke. "What about you? Will you ever have children?"

Something seemed to wither and die in his expression and suddenly he lacked the will to meet her eyes. His shoulders pulled back and he shifted his weight a few times before finally gathering the courage to pull his hands from hers. He cleared his throat. Tugged at the collar of his night shirt. Shifted. His nerves got the best of him.

"_Non._ I don't think I'll ever be a father… Not by choice, at least, _madame_," he whispered. His behaviour scared her. "My, where has the time gone? Cogsworth will have me up first thing in the morning! You should get to bed too, Belle."

When it became clear to her that he was waiting for her to move, she stood and carefully picked up the waning candle. The dull light caught Lumière's eyes which, as she had begun to expect, were focused on the dying flame. He moved stiffly to pick up his papers and unlit candle.

"I didn't mean to upset you…" Belle began hesitantly. She could see his smile, but even in the near darkness she could tell it was brittle. Even though she knew he was human, and humans all had emotions which changed as often as the fashions of Paris, she found that seeing him without his smile left her stomach in knots. It just wasn't right.

The sound of their shuffling feet was loud in the silent hallway, the shadows jumping at them as their lightsource burned away. She could feel his presence at her shoulder, but she didn't dare turn her head to look at him. Instead, she kept silent with her eyes on the floor until they reached the doors to her room.

The door creaked open when he pushed on them and in the darkness they could see the prince shifting in his sleep. Belle snuffed her candle, nodded to Lumière, and stepped inside. She could hear his footsteps tapping on the stone as he walked away.


End file.
